This invention relates to an image forming apparatus which has a box function of providing users with a plurality of storage areas as boxes which store print image data and in which passwords are registered, and more particularly to a method of certificating the password when a user uses a box.
The box function is such that the storage area of a storage unit, such as a hard disk, is divided into a plurality of sub-areas so that print image data (hereinafter, just referred to as image data) can be managed on an area basis. To use the box function, the image data, for example, read by a scanner or sent from a personal computer is stored temporarily in a box of the image forming apparatus. At a subsequent time, the box which has stored the image is specified from the operator section of the image forming apparatus or a personal computer connected to the communication network, thereby selecting the desired image data from a list of image data stored in the box, which enables the image to be print-output or transmitted by fax or e-mail. Using the boxes by individual or by use increases convenience for users.
Some of the image forming apparatuses with such a box function enable a password to be registered in a box to prevent the image data in the box from being accessed. Each time each box is accessed, the password is requested. The input password is collated with the password registered in each box beforehand. Only when both passwords coincide with each other, an instruction to, for example, store the image data or print-output the image data in the box is allowed to be given.
When a personal computer using the box function is connected to an image forming apparatus via a communication network, such as a LAN, the password registered in each box might be picked up by another personal computer connected to the communication network and be leaked out or deciphered. Once the password is deciphered by another person's personal computer, secret information on an individual stored in the box leaks out.